March 21st, 2024 - An Outlaw's Jailbreak

 

Hey there headbangers, evil-doers, and craft brew freaks!  The Meista here today getting a little heavy and a little dark with a pairing of "Jailbreak", the latest kick-ass album by Nervosa and a tasty and rich Outlaw Milk Stout from Great Basin Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Nervosa
• Title: "Jailbreak"
• Recorded: 2023 at Artesonao Studio, in Málaga, Spain
• Release date: September 29th, 2023 (5th full-length studio album by Nervosa)
• Record company: Napalm Records
• Production: Martin Furia 
• Album cover art: Alcides Burn 
• Personnel: Gabriela Abud (drums), Prika Amaral (guitars, lead and backing vocals), Hel Pyre (bass), and Helena Kotina (guitars) 
• Guest musicians: Gary Holt (lead guitar on "When The Truth Is A Lie") and Lena Scissorhands (additional vocals on "Superstition Failed")
• Musical style: Thrash metal with elements of death metal and black metal
• Sound: The sound on "Jailbreak" is unapologetically fast, aggressive, and steeped in classic thrash, death, and black metal, but with a fresh, modern, and relevant vibe.  Amaral's and Kotina's riffs and solos are a thing of brutal beauty layered on top of powerful, machine gun fire rhythmic tapestries by Hel Pyre and Abud, while Amaral wails and growls like an infernal banshee!  Simply put, this album shreds!!
• Major themes: Greed, death, destruction, survival, aggression, deception, isolation, evil, darkness, the occult, rebellion, revolution, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Endless Ambition"
2. "Suffocare"
3. "Ungrateful"
4. "Seed Of Death"
5. "Jailbreak"
6. "Sacrifice"
7. "Behind The Wall"
8. "Kill Or Die"
9. "When The Truth Is A Lie"
10. "Superstition Failed"
11. "Gates To Fall"
12. "Elements Of Sin"
13. "Nail The Coffin"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Great Basin Brewing Company (Reno, Nevada)
• Website: http://greatbasinbrewingco.com/
• Brew: Outlaw Milk Stout
• Style: Milk Stout
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0% 
• IBUs: 20
• Ingredients: Roasted barley, caramel malt, lactose, and rolled oats
• Pour: The Outlaw pours a nearly jet-black hue with flecks of red when held to light with a firm, 2-figner, mocha head with good retention and sudsy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is roasty, earthy, chocolaty, sweet, and creamy.  There are aromas of vanilla bean, dark chocolate, molasses, fresh brewed coffee, and a hint of licorice with subtle aromas of fresh cream, burnt toffee, oats, barley, and espresso.
• Taste: The taste of the Outlaw is earthy, roasty, chocolaty, sweet, creamy and rich.  There are notes of creamy vanilla, bittersweet dark chocolate, fresh cream, milk sugar, marshmallow, cocoa, light coffee, and roasted toffee/caramel.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with very low carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Outlaw is thick, silky, and smooth with a dry, sweet finish.

Overall pairing: Along with the almost perfect duality of the album cover and title and the beer label imagery, the bold, complex, earthy, and sweet aromas and flavors of Great Basin's Outlaw Milk Stout make it the perfect brew for the dark, heavy, and aggressive metal onslaught that is Nervosa's killer "Jailbreak" album!  'Nuff said!

And check out my interview with Nervosa bassist Hel Pyre here: https://youtu.be/G8DYfthUy1U

Cheers!!  Keep it heavy and keep it craft!!